From Dance to Everything

It has been close to two months since I started one hour dance practices every Thursday morning. I’m a morning person per se but my schedule has shifted over the years. Now I go to bed past midnight and I wake up late. So waking up early for this dance session is fairly challenging for me. It hasn’t been so bad since I have a friend to practice with. My friend, who suggested the idea and who has been a great influence on me as far as dance, lives across my home. She and I every Thursday morning (and we have not missed a session so far) are up by 6 o'clock. The biggest challenge is getting out of the bed but once I’m up, it gets easy. Inside the dance studio which is just ten minutes from my home, it is very cozy and pleasant. I love mornings for that reason. Everything is calm and pure, you can feel all the living things still peacefully resting in their homes and you are one of the few awake and doing something productive! We start with some warm-ups, then go over adavus (steps) followed by dance pieces. I’m learning a cute Ganesha, Shiva, Parvathi and Murugan piece. The song is pleasant and to listen to it in the morning, makes it all the best.

It is funny that I enjoy classical bharatanatyam very much. I grew up not believing in God. I’m not joking here. I purely believed in science. Even now, if you ask me where I fit, I’ll say I’m more towards atheist than theist. For me things need to be explained and be seen. Lot of the influence comes from my dad. He is an atheist but he has full respect for others beliefs. My mum was spiritual but she never tried to impose her beliefs on to me, may be because she was afraid my dad would disapprove. But I loved going to Temples with my grandmother growing up. It was always peaceful and pure and you get to sample the holy water (usually has camphor and tulasi) and coconut slices and other dry fruits. It was after college through many influences, I started connecting science with religion, especially Hinduism. I loved listening to someone giving a scientific understanding of the mythological stories and terms used in Hinduism. Dance also has a great influence on me because I feel different kind of vibrations in my body after every class. I come out very peaceful and content. Sometimes, even just listening to good carnatic music brings those vibrations. That is when I started believing in something. Some force, some energy out there which I never noticed before and now I'm feeling it. There are days I tell myself, I’m not alone in this world, this life doesn’t end here, there is something more beyond. And it gets me excited. I look at nature, plants and animals, and I feel we are all connected. It is ironic that my dad lived on Tirumala Tirupati (on top of the hill) for three years on work basis. That was when I was born. I know that place is known to be corrupt but it is also one of the holiest places for Hindus. I never went back after my parents left that place. It is in the list of places that I want to see.